Colorado voters made history Tuesday night, passing a constitutional
amendment to legalize, tax, and regulate marijuana and becoming the
first state in the US to break with marijuana prohibition. Hours later,
voters in Washington state followed suit, passing a legalization
initiative there, but a similar effort in Oregon came up short.

Even though marijuana legalization didn't achieve a trifecta, two states
have now decisively rejected marijuana prohibition, sending an
electrifying message to the rest of the country and the world. Tuesday's
election also saw a medical marijuana initiative pass in Massachusetts,
a sentencing reform initiative pass in California, and a limited
legalization initiative pass in Detroit. Medical marijuana initiatives
failed in Arkansas and Montana. [Editor's Note: Look for Chronicle news briefs soon on the election results we have yet to publish stories on.]

“The victories in Colorado and Washington are of historic significance
not just for Americans but for all countries debating the future of
marijuana prohibition in their own countries,” said Ethan Nadelmann,
executive director of the Drug Policy Alliance.
“This is now a mainstream issue, with citizens more or less divided on
the issue but increasingly inclined to favor responsible regulation of
marijuana over costly and ineffective prohibitionist policies.

According to the Colorado secretary of state's office, as of 10p.m.Mountain time, Amendment 64 was leading comfortably with 53.2% of the vote, compared to 46.7%
voting "no." That figure was with only 41% of the vote counted, but it
was enough for Amendment 64 supporters and foes alike to call the
victory. Rising excitement at Casselman's, the downtown Denver bar where
campaign supporters gathered, turned to pandemonium as Colorado media
began calling the result little more than two hours after the polls
closed.